SANTA CLARITA - Saying state government has a major role in public education, state Sen. Steve Knight, R-Lancaster, visited three local schools Monday as part of what he says will be a 100-school tour by the end of next year.

“A lot of what goes on in Sacramento has to do with what’s going on here administratively,” Knight said during a tour of Valencia High School. “I should know if something’s working or not working.”

Besides Valencia, Knight stopped by Saugus High School and Rio Norte Junior High School, all William S. Hart Union High School District campuses.

“I think it’s a chance for us to show him the public schools that he also serves and the people that we serve and things we do here,” said Paul Priesz, principal of Valencia. “It’s nice for him to know the things we emphasize and do.”

Priesz seized the opportunity to showcase Valencia’s sports medicine program “because we wanted to show him our emphasis on school career paths,” Priesz said. “We have 17 career paths. That’s just one of them.”

The program has been in the news recently after its students revived a basketball player who collapsed in the gymnasium, requiring emergency heart defibrillation.

Knight, who represents most of the Santa Clarita Valley, emphasized the need for more money to go to classrooms to ensure innovative programs survive.